CH 33

Less than half an hour later, Jin Wang carried Ye Shu, who had finished bathing, back to the bedchamber.

Ye Shu sank into the soft bed, too tired to move a finger. Jin Wang lowered his head to kiss him, but was avoided by the frowning Ye Shu.

“Go away…” Ye Shu’s voice was somewhat hoarse and weak, without much energy.

Jin Wang pinched his earlobe and softly coaxed, “Bear with it a little longer… Good boy.”

Ye Shu fiercely glared in exchange.

His Majesty the monarch was certainly not incompetent in this area; on the contrary, he was too competent.

But no matter how competent he was, there was no use for it now either.

Whether it was kissing and embracing, or appeasement and relief, to a Kunjun, it was like trying to quench his thirst with a drop of water. After a short period of relief, he would feel more impatient and unfulfilled instead.

The more Ye Shu thought about this, the more angry he became. He was both angry at himself for being so horny, and angry at the culprit who made him that way.

He turned over and pulled the quilt over him, leaving only the fluffy back of his head sticking out.

Jin Wang ceded. “Gu will go deal with the affairs of the state first. Rest more, remember to have lunch on time.”

Ye Shu intended to ignore him, but he sensed him continue standing in front of the bed and staring at him, so he had to duly answer, “Understood.”

Jin Wang smiled, lowered his head and kissed Ye Shu’s hair, then left the bedchamber.

Only when the door closed did Ye Shu rolled over and get off the bed.

He knelt on the bedside, bent over to grope for the jade bottle Jin Wang had casually dropped under the bed earlier until he finally grasped it.

This thing couldn’t be lost.

Ye Shu scanned his eyes around the chamber and eventually placed it far behind the front line of the bookshelf, hiding it away safely and securely.

Having done so, Ye Shu dusted his hands and looked down at his lower abdomen.

“All your fault,” Ye Shu said in a whisper. “Behave yourself these next few days. If I get tossed about by your father again, look out; for your little life may not be guaranteed.”

The child who may lose his life at any time. “……”

The following day at noon, the Great Yan’s envoy reached the capital.

His Majesty the monarch led his subjects to the city gate to welcome the party and then settled them in the palace to wait for the state banquet in the evening which was a welcoming reception for the envoy.

Ye Shu didn’t go to the city gate.

As a matter of fact, when he woke up, the envoy had already taken residence in the Huitong building bestowed to foreign visitors by His Majesty.

……Jin Wang didn’t even call him.

The monarch was busy entertaining the envoy that day and had no time to go back to the bedchamber to dine with Ye Shu, who sluggishly finished his lunch, after which a servant brought him the clothes he had to wear for the banquet.

It was black and red court dress.

The court dress was made from the finest of materials and depicted the pattern of a phoenix. The style was intricate yet unassuming—very similar to the one Jin Wang usually wore.

The monarch of Chang Lu was honored by means of black and gold, while only the empress consort could wear black and red.

Jin Wang said that he would attend the state banquet as the emperor’s wife—indeed so.

Although he had no official title yet, this display of etiquette was no different from that of the Empress.

The servant who came to bring the clothes was still relaying Jin Wang’s instructions, “His Majesty has instructed that the young master can rest a little longer and arrive at Taiji hall before the start of the banquet. Furthermore, the Great Yan’s envoy, His Highness the Second Prince of Yan state…”

“Wait,” Ye Shu frowned and asked, “the Second Prince of Yan state, Yu Yan?”

The servant, “Yes.”

That wasn’t right.

In the book, it was an imperial relative and diplomatic envoy of Great Yan who came to Chang Lu, not the second prince.

The Great Yan’s second prince, Yu Yan—Ye Shu was no stranger to this name at all.

He was the future monarch of Great Yan.

This man had a very similar childhood experience to Jin Wang’s. When Yu Yan was young, his mother consort was driven to death by the Empress of Yan. Upon the loss of his mother, he was sent to be raised by the very Empress who had killed his mother, his mother’s nemesis.

Years of brewing hatred caused him to deeply abhor the imperial family of Great Yan to the very marrow of his bones. When Chang Lu settled its sights on Great Yan after having annihilated Western Xia, Jin Wang took advantage of his hatred of the imperial family and reached an agreement with him that became the key to defeat the Yan into losing ground.

In the midst of the Yan state’s simmering domestic troubles and mounting foreign aggression, Yu Yan, who had endured humiliation for many years, took the opportunity to seize power and voluntarily capitulated to Chang Lu, thus ending years of war between the two states.

In the end, with the congeniality between each other, he even became best friends with Jin Wang.

In the light of the plot’s progress, this man wasn’t supposed to appear until the latter half of the book.

With him arriving at Chang Lu now, there wouldn’t be any troubles again, right?

Ye Shu inexplicably felt some uneasiness.

The curtain of night soon fell, and song and dance commenced in Taiji hall.

The monarch was sitting at the throne, clothed in black and gold. The court officials were seated on both sides of the main hall according to their ranks. In front and near the monarch’s seat sat several envoys from the Great Yan.

Among them, the second prince, Yu Yan, was the closest to the monarch.

The Great Yan’s second prince was about the same age as Jin Wang. He was dressed in dark-purple flowery garb and had gentle and handsome facial features, his bearing striking one as impressive at first glance.

From time to time, the two would turn their heads to each other to converse, seemingly having a good talk.

But…that was all there was.

The monarch had yet to announce the start of the banquet.

Facing the table empty of food, the crowd didn’t dare to inquire and urge, and could only proceed to enjoy the singing and dancing.

Behind Jin Wang, Gao Jin finally couldn’t stand it any longer and reminded him in a low voice, “Your Majesty, it’s time for the banquet to start.”

Jin Wang replied insipidly, “There’s no hurry. Wait a bit more.”

Gu’s little consort hasn’t arrived yet.

Having said that, he looked at the second prince of Yan at the side with a smile. “The second prince doesn’t have to be too punctilious, have some tea first.”

Yu Yan, “……Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Yu Yan behaved gracefully, with a smile on his face, but simply raised his glass and didn’t drink.

…He would nearly be full if he drank any more.

His Highness the second prince was already somewhat tired.

As the additional song and dance ended, the servant finally announced the arrival of the noble consort.

Jin Wang looked up at the hall to look with his own eyes.

A young man in black and red court dress slowly stepped into the main hall.

The moment he appeared, the entire Taiji hall fell into a staggering silence.

Ye Shu wasn’t wearing a veil.

For the past two months, Ye Shu had lived in the harem, rarely seeing outsiders. The one time he had gone to the ancestral temple with Jin Wang, he was covered with a white veil, his appearance shielded from the sight of everyone.

Thus now, at the sight of him, all the court officials were astonished.

Wasn’t this Minister Ye?

But didn’t Minister Ye already……

For a moment, all eyes coalesced on Ye Shu, but the latter was unaware of it and walked to the center of the main hall without kneeling, only standing and bowing, “Greetings to Your Majesty.”

He looked up at Jin Wang sitting on the dragon throne.

The two men’s eyes met in the air in an instant. Jin Wang then said softly, “Beloved consort has finally arrived. Come up here.”

Ye Shu, “Yes.”

Ye Shu went up. Gao Jin was about to order a servant to add a chair, but who would have thought that His Majesty would rise directly and lead the other over to sit beside him.

Gao Jin, “……”

Alright.

Ye Shu sat down. Jin Wang turned his head and ordered, “Let the banquet begin.”

Dozens of servants walked in and placed fine dishes on the table in front of everyone.

But no one cared about this as none of them had recovered from their astonishment.

This man clearly appeared to be Minister Ye. Why was he the noble consort?

Why did the noble consort look exactly like Minister Ye?

While the officials were spacing out, Jin Wang turned his head and said softly in Ye Shu’s ear, “You did that on purpose, right?”

Ye Shu feigned ignorance. “I don’t understand what Your Majesty is talking about.”

Jin Wang didn’t get mad. He raised his hand and pinched his face. “What do you want Gu to make up now? That Minister Ye unexpectedly came back to life, or that he still lives in Gu’s memory so Gu went out and found a similar-looking replacement?”

Ye Shu, in all seriousness, thought about it.

A rebirth novel and a substitute novel.

Both sounded good.

Ye Shu didn’t mean to cause trouble for Jin Wang.

But he had come to eat. How could he do that with a veil on?

What’s more, it went without saying that it was a dereliction of etiquette to cover one’s face with a white veil at a state banquet.

Jin Wang didn’t ask him to disguise himself to attend the banquet, which meant he acquiesced to showing the world his true appearance.

As for how to justify this later, he didn’t need to worry about it.

Ye Shu, “Whatever Your Majesty decides. I’m so hungry, can I eat now?”

High above the banquet, the monarch hadn’t moved his chopsticks, so no one else dared to move theirs either.

Jin Wang chuckled. “You say you’re hungry, yet you still came so late?”

Ye Shu gave him a reproving look. “…..Doesn’t the blame lie with you?”

This man wasn’t unaware that he had overslept but he had also specially instructed the palace maids at Yangxin Hall not to wake him up. As a result, the sky was already dark when Ye Shu woke up, and he rushed to get there.

“Gu wanted you to rest more,” Jin Wang lightly clipped a piece of white meat into Ye Shu’s bowl and said, “Eat up.”

Even if there were a lot of doubts in the officials’ minds, they still dared not inquire at this time, but reluctantly obliged as they began to move their chopsticks.

The rites and music began and the feast continued.

Ye Shu didn’t pay attention to how the officials viewed him and just buried his head in his meal. In between bites, he happened to look up, only to meet yet another unfamiliar gaze.

It was Yu Yan.

Since he entered the main hall, Yu Yan had been sizing him up from time to time with a pensive look.

At this moment, he found that the latter didn’t even have the slightest bit of embarrassment at being caught, but instead smiled at Ye Shu calmly.

Ye Shu, “……” What’s with this man?

Before he could react, a hand gave a measured squeeze to the side of his waist. “Where is my beloved consort looking at?”

“……” Ye Shu withdrew his gaze. “Nothing.”

“But Gu saw you,” Jin Wang lowered his voice. The smell of jealousy assaulted him square in the face. “How can you still look at other men when you’re around Gu?”

Ye Shu, “……Absolutely nothing.”

“Your Majesty!” Someone beside him suddenly called out aloud.

When the two looked over, Yu Yan rose from his seat and raised his wine cup. “I heard that Your Majesty had brought home a beauty two months ago. Seeing the noble consort today, it is indeed an extraordinary beauty. I have specially brought a good wine from the Great Yan to present to Your Majesty and the noble consort, wishing you both a long life and unfailing devotion.”

As soon as Yu Yan’s voice fell, a servant immediately came forward to pour wine for the two of them. The corners of Jin Wang’s mouth rose without hindrance.

……But his hand on Ye Shu’s waist was caressing threateningly.

Ye Shu shivered and spoke with hum and haw, “I…I can’t drink.”

Yu Yan didn’t back down. “This wine was made using ancient methods and is a specialty of the imperial family of Great Yan. Is the noble consort not willing to do me this honor?”

Two cups of wine were placed in front of Ye Shu. He already felt some dizziness by the smell of it, and he insisted, “I really can’t…”

With this, he turned his head to look at Jin Wang for help.

The latter finally smiled in satisfaction and stroked him soothingly on the back. “Gu’s beloved consort really can’t drink. He would have to be sent back to the palace lying down if he drank this cup.”

Jin Wang picked up the cup in front of Ye Shu and said, “Gu will drink it for him.”

Saying that, without waiting for Yu Yan to answer, he directly drank it up.

The same as for the other cup,

Jin Wang put down the cup and asked, “Want more?”

Yu Yan, “……”

The second prince of Yan state couldn’t rock the boat. After drinking a cup of wine in silence, he went back to his seat.

And he didn’t dare to talk to Ye Shu again for the entire banquet.

As the banquet was about to be dismissed, Ye Shu preceded others and left Taiji hall first and went out for some air.

The imperial palanquin was already waiting outside the hall.

Ye Shu was still a bit dizzy after being assisted by the servant into the imperial palanquin.

As someone who could get intoxicated from the smell of distilled spirits, it was really too difficult for him to take part in an entire banquet.

Ye Shu, wrapped in a velvet quilt, leaned drowsily inside the imperial palanquin.

Suddenly, a voice came from the outside. “Yu Yan greets the noble consort.”

Ye Shu lifted the curtain.

Yu Yan stood a short distance away and bowed to Ye Shu.

What the hell was with this man?

Ye Shu asked patiently, “Is there a reason why the second prince wants to see me?”

Yu Yan said, “I felt something familiar about the noble consort at first sight. I wonder if I can have a word?”

Ye Shu, “No can do.”

……There’s nothing familiar about you at first sight.

His Majesty’s jealousy was about to explode. He wouldn’t dare talk to this man alone.

Yu Yan didn’t get annoyed either and said unhurriedly, “Then I wonder if the noble consort knows of a person named Qi Xuan.”

Ye Shu, “……”

Of course he knew.

In order to pull wool over people’s eyes, the original owner always used the alias Qi Xuan for external communications.

The Great Yan had a connection with the original owner as well?

Ye Shu became suspicious. He was just about to ask again when out of the corner of his eyes, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure.

“First of all, I don’t know the person you’re asking about at all,” Ye Shu promptly sat straight, cleared his throat, and said sternly, “Secondly, I am the noble consort and you are a prince of a foreign state. We should avoid appearing anything suspicious.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. Second prince, please go back.”

Yu Yan, “?”

Before Yu Yan could respond, another deep and low voice suddenly came from behind him. “What is the second prince and Gu’s consort talking about? Let Gu hear it too?”

(Little theater)

Jin Wang: Feeling jealous. Need to be kissed, hugged, coaxed, and such.

–

The new character is not a villain, nor is he gonna be involved in any emotional drama. He’s mostly there to make A-Wang jealous and drive him to uncover the secret (.)